Lee Lizenberger
Baku/22.11.21/Turan: Why did the US Embassy stop the small grant projects that it has been issuing for many years? Answering this question from Turan during a briefing on November 22, US Ambassador Lee Lizenberger said that the atmosphere in Azerbaijan is currently "extremely limited."
“We are for civil society and NGOs to be able to work freely and transparently with donors. The current situation does not allow this, because of which Azerbaijan suffers, because it cannot develop a civil society,” he said.
When asked by Turan about the assessment of the state of independent media and political prisoners in Azerbaijan, the ambassador noted that the public should have access to various sources of information in order to have an objective idea of what is happening. The United States has traditionally supported media freedoms.
As for fundamental freedoms, “we are concerned when we see people being detained and persecuted for exercising their constitutional rights - freedom of assembly or freedom of speech,” the ambassador said.
According to him, negotiations with the authorities on these topics are ongoing and there are certain achievements. “I expect there will be even more of them,” the diplomat said. -02B-
Politics
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On December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of his birthday.
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The U.S. Embassy responded to the host of the "Həftə" ("Week") program, who once again accused the United States of pursuing an anti-Azerbaijani policy, using undiplomatic language.
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On Monday, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, who is currently on a working visit to Belgrade, was received by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. According to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service, during the meeting, both sides expressed satisfaction with the "strategic partnership between the two countries" and emphasized the importance of mutual high-level visits.
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On December 23, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Serbia took place in Belgrade. During the final press conference, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric reported that the discussions focused on the development of tourism. "We are strengthening efforts to open direct air routes, as well as economic development and energy," said Djuric. The minister expressed confidence that cooperation between Serbia and Azerbaijan would become even closer and more intensive in the near future.
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